The present invention relates to a solar ray collecting device suitable for being loaded and employed in a spacecraft.
The present applicant has previously proposed various apparatuses and methods by which solar rays are focused by a lens or the like and guided into an optical conductor, and which are further transmitted through the optical conductor onto an optional desired place for use in illumination or for other purposes, specifically i.e. in order to use solar rays as a light source for nurturing chlorella, etc., or as a light source for photosynthesis.
Cosmic engineering has become highly developed in recent years. As a result of such progress, astronauts are obliged to stay in a spacecraft for longer periods of time. The supplying of oxygen and food to the astronouts inside the spacecraft arises as one of the most important problems. As a matter of course, when a rocket is launched, oxygen containers and an adequate food supply are included in the rocket. It is to be expected that the number of crew members will increase in the future and also the time spent in the spacecraft will increase. At the present time the amount of oxygen and food that can be stored in a spacecraft is limited. It is clear, according to this invention, that solar rays could be effectively collected for use inside of a spacecraft. Solar rays are the most effective light rays as a source of energy for cultivating plant life and for supplying oxygen resulting from plant cultivation.